Wednesday, November 27, 2013

On Programming - The Lifting Templates

Right. So we're back to this. Yea. I know. It was like two months ago. Leave me alone. (I've been working on this post on and off for about a month now trying to put as much information in as small a space as possible. You're welcome.)

The EliteFitnessBro
Focus: No one is really sure. (Supreme fitness and stuff)no discernible rhyme or reason to muscles used or program patterning

Okay I'm just kidding. The truth is that this one is a bit harder to quantify simply and I'm pretty sure the organization would have all sorts of problems with me trying to do so but oh well.

Focus: Metabolic Conditioningtry to stress as many muscles/systems as possible in as few movements as necessary (in a very general sense)Descending/Ascending Pattern Schemeslike 3-6-9-12-15, 21-15-9, 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, 50/25-40/20-30/15-20/10-10/5 (for two exercises ex: 50 squats/25 push ups, 40 squats/20 push ups etc.)or a set Goal Number (25,50,100 etc.) for time (AFAP) or a set of exercises done for as many repetitions or rounds of a circuit (AMRAP)Or a set of exercises done every minute on the minute (EMOM)

The Intermediate to Advanced PowerBro
Focus: Strength,Power4-5x per week1 Main Lift Per Day + Accessory WorkTry not to hit same/similar movements 2 days in a row (don't do benchpresses tuesday and strict presses wednesday)Sets/Reps: This isn't as specific as the others but generally for whatever your main lift is load the bar with about 50% of your 1RM (yes, you need to know your ACTUAL, TESTED 1RM) and do a set of 3-5 reps. Lets say you pick 5 reps - Perform each set and then add 5-20 lbs in regular increments (probably 5-10 lbs for upper body lifts but you might use 10-20 lbs for deadlifts/squats/olympic lifts....though they would want me to write it in kg) working your way up to a 5RM. Continue adding weight but move down to 3 reps per set until you hit a 3RM. Then do singles until you can't lift any more. If at this point you want/need to add some more volume to your workout you can knock the weight back down and start working back up 3 reps at a time. You could do 5 as well, but from personal experience I can tell you that really, really sucks. You should pick a method that's relevant to your goals. If you're trying to add mass --> High volume. If you're trying to increase the max strength of the mass you have -->Lower Volume/More maxes/multiple rep maxes (for example Olympic Lift Programming often sticks to three or fewer reps/attempts per set)You can then perform your accessory lifts (typically performed as a Bodybuilding split for the body part corresponding to the main lift (See SwoleBro above))

So these are some solid, basic templates for constructing a sound training program. While they can be performed to the letter of the descriptions above, the real fun of this system is the ability to mix and match and how much room for creativity there is within the programs especially when on top of set/rep schemes you start to consider lifting tempos, time schemes and order of exercises.

For Example:
Circuits - Rather than performing each exercise in consecutive sets, it can sometimes be useful to perform one exercise after another with little to no rest in between in one giant set and then rest after one set of each exercise has been completed. This is typically called "circuit training."

Ballistic/Explosive Lifts- rather than performing each rep in a slow and controlled manner, lower the weight slowly and then try to lift it as quickly as possible. These types of exercise tend to focus on building power (the ability to generate force quickly) and also frequently exhibit a high metabolic demand (...they make you puke if you do them a lot).

So say you take the Reasonable FitnessBro above and in order to save time and burn a few extra calories (at the expense of a small amount of muscle growth) you decide to perform it as a circuit. This particular template actually lends itself to this scheme very well and happens to be a program I use with my clients often.

You can also mix and match the templates once you start to understand each individual templates purposes. For example, say you want to retain the strength you've built with your PowerBro program but now you want to focus on a bit more aesthetics. Pretty easy - just combine the PowerBro and AestheticBro templates into one:

Day 1 Lower Body
Back Squat
Performed Following PowerBro Standards (3 rep sets to 3RM etc.)

Then take a day off....and start over but this time swap the back squat for a deadlift on lower body day and the strict press for either a bench or a bent over row on upper body day. Ideally a solid program would be balanced between pushing and pulling movements.

Of course this isn't the only possible combination just one of the easiest examples to provide. The truth is that if you really want to get creative you need to understand the principles that drive your programming. In other words, you need to understand from a physiological perspective what the possible goals of exercise are and how to program for each of them.

In addition it would probably be useful to know how to program aerobic/cardiovascular work and maybe even some agility and plyometrics since this post is just about lifting stuff.